Playground fun

Power Up Clubs 2019

Again this year, our family was involved with Power Up Clubs (PUC). The club is our church's version on VBS brought to front yards in outdoor style. This has been a valuable way to share the Gospel with children who would normally not get an opportunity to hear the Gospel. This year, many children and teens came to know the Lord personally, and the testimonies coming out of the clubs were thrilling!

The club on our front yard allowed us to have a platform to declare Jesus as Lord and to make new friendships with our guests and their families. We had a wonderful time!!

Besides the learning, we also engaged the children in a lot of play. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the children from this week:

With our eyes fixed on eternity....

Matthew's update

Matthew has been doing remarkably well!! He never cried or complained of pain--even in the recovery room! He has faithfully been taking his pain medications and working with me to keep his tongue from resealing. What a gift to this momma's heart!

Since I was unable to bring myself to putting anything in his mouth to keep the incision from resealing, Matthew and I have been doing tongue exercises together. And, when creamy peanut butter, ice cream, and whipped cream are involved, the exercises seem easier! 😃

No longer tongue-tied

Matthew was doing the "fake cough" again this morning and asking to "go to the doctor". I told him we would go. He was so excited!!!! He forgot to eat and drink before jumping in the car 😉.... When we drove up to the "new doctor's office", Matthew squealed with delight and kept chanting, "my new doctor office!" In the surgical waiting room, Matthew was the ONLY one singing and doing his "happy dance"! He was SO EXCITED! He even fake coughed and told the administration ladies that he had to see the doctor right away!

Matthew did amazingly well, and he charmed all the nurses with hugs and love 😍! I am SO THANKFUL for his easy-going attitude!

Now for the recovery: He had his tongue-tie lasered, and I have to work diligently multiple times a day for several weeks to keep the tongue-tie from resealing. The surgeon suggested putting a spoon under his tongue and pushing backwards against the lasered area to keep the top and bottom from trying to adhere. Ugh. I do not think I am capable.... My queasy stomach!!!!

The easy part: liquid diet for several days with Motrin and Tylenol. I can do that!

Matthew's pre-op appointment

Matthew LOVES going to the doctor's office! He daily begs to go to the doctor's office. Today, his "dream" came true, and his joy was overflowing!

Matthew's official height as a 5-year-old is 2 feet 11 inches. What an awesome little guy!!!!!

Much Needed Rest

Thank you, Sweet Sandra, for the time away to rest! During our week at the time share, we were able to fight off the germs that had continually plagued us and play together in the process.

Then, when we were all well, we visited a science museum, 

and the children had so much fun!!

Daniel:

Andrew:

Daddy and Daniel:

Matthew: 

And the littles--who had had the stomach flu--could finally swim!

In addition, on a last minute deal we were able to attend Medieval Times with a bunch of school groups. It was great! 

 The shy one (Daniel) who was hiding behind daddy:

We came home feeling healthy and ready to tackle the next couple of weeks....

Rest Begins

Today marks 100 days of continual sickness in our family: five rounds of impetigo, 2 rounds of pink eye, months of congestion, 7+ kidney stones, stomach flu, chest pains with hospitalization, asthma flare-ups.... (And that doesn't include the brown recluse spider bite!)

But tonight, with one child sleeping on the floor next to a bucket and bathroom, two children sleeping under a humidifier, and one parent connected to a heart monitor, we begin to rest. Our dear family friend, Sandra Tabor, has gifted us her week in a timeshare. We are abundantly thankful for her kindness and generosity!!!!!!!! May God bless her IMMENSELY for her care and concern for our family!!!!!!

Transparency

Hi, Friends.

I have been shying away from posting since December, because I have felt that I may have seemed deceptive. In the past, I have tried to highlight the good in our family, because those are the memories and moments I want my family and I to remember.

However, I felt like I was deceiving you, the reader, making it so that it may have looked like all of life was great and amazing. Of course, that was/is not so. Therefore, I pulled away.

Here's the truth:
Life is hard.
Life is REALLY HARD.
Life is harder than Derek and I ever imagined it could be.
And, we know it will get harder still as the teen years approach.

So, why is "life" hard?

We have children who have come through EXTREME DEVASTATION, and they are hurt. They hurt so badly!

However, we cannot tell their stories. Their stories are theirs to share--if and when they are ever ready.

So, I thought I had to stop writing, because I thought I was putting up a facade.

But, would you all please allow me to continue journaling our family--looking for the good, yet keeping the really hard and ugly protected as the children try to find their way in their new little worlds?

If so, would you pray for us? We have entered "waters" we have never navigated, nor do we have mentors who have walked this road before us.

It seems that when things get really tough, many adoptive families go behind closed doors. I totally understand--especially when one's own family says things like, "Well, you brought it upon yourself!"

Yes, we have "brought it upon ourselves". We WANT to be a part of God's rescue plan for orphans. We WANT to walk with them through the battles that rage within--due to all the trauma they experienced. We WANT to be present and available when the rage flares and the tears pour and the children don't know why. We WANT to pay attention to find what triggers may be igniting nightmares and terrors that are surfacing from early pain, hurt, trauma, and mistreatment.

Yes, we want to be "Jesus with skin on" for the little ones God has brought into our home.

We want to be transparent with what we can share. So, when you see smiling faces on this blog, they may be posted because I am in love with the glow that just came through a crying meltdown that we have just snuggled our way through.

We are all flawed. So flawed! We are all growing and learning together. We need more grace than we ever new before.

Initially, I had titled this blog "Grace to Infinity" thinking that God had given us grace beyond what we ever imagined in granting us these precious children to love, help, and mold. However, lately I've been thinking that the "Grace to Infinity" stands for the amount of grace each one of us needs to navigate this road as a family.

"Hurt people hurt people." We have been told that numerous times. There are times Derek and I feel hurt to the point to bleeding internally, but it brings us closer to a Savior whom we have hurt. WE caused Him to bleed--real blood. How much more is it our PRIVILEGE to walk in the steps of the Savior?

So, in the future as I post about the memories we what to focus on, please know we are not trying to look like "life is perfect" or "life is a bunch of roses". Life is hard, but we choose to see the joy and goodness. We choose to love and to spend ourselves for the sake of hurt little ones.

-Julie